Hivemind Control

Luna scrubbed her hooves vigorously in the sink, washing away the last evidence of her indiscretion. She was ashamed of herself for performing such an act in somepony else's house, especially somepony she wasn't particularly fond of. She was glad that the bathroom door locked, and also that she had been able to tame herself quickly and seamlessly, leading to an easy cleanup. It would have been quite the scandal if she had squirted all over her host's walls. They likely employed a maid, and she didn't want to cause their help any additional stress.

With everything cleared by the mirror; her mane neat and tidy and her form clear of any blemishes or splatter, she turned and exited the lavatory, coming face to face with Upper Crust.

"Pardon me," smiled Princess Luna, stepping out of the way. "Go right in."

"Actually, Princess," smirked the hostess, "I was just coming to collect you for dinner. Would you come with me to the dining hall?"

With a nod, Luna followed her into the dining hall, where the table was extravagantly decorated with gaudy baubles of every make. The colours clashed, and the pieces were mostly arranged by size, with the biggest in the middle and slowly tapering out. This was not a terrible design philosophy, but it did seem a bit too big. A guest sitting in the middle of the table would find it easier to kick the shins of the pony sitting across from them than to carry on a conversation.

Luckily, her seat was near one of the ends, at Jet Set's immediate right. He would be at one end, and his wife would be at the other, something that would make more sense at a shorter table. At a length such as this, it would be best for the host and hostess to be close enough to speak, five chairs away at most.

Still, the other guests nearby weren't horrible. Fancy Pants sat next to her with a pleasant enough smile, and on the other side of the table, two chairs down, Cosmo smiled and bowed his head to her. As her gaze met his oceanic eyes, she could feel her loins stirring up again, despite the fact that she'd just relieved herself.

As the last few guests took their seats, a small jingle of a bell rang out. Luna thought it might be somepony playing with the Hearth's Warming decorations in the middle of the table, despite the fact that it was July, but it was actually Upper Crust, unable to be seen from her position, calling for the catering servers to bring out the appetizers.

"Lovely long time since we last spoke," chimed Fancy as he waited his turn in the serving process. "How are you, Princess?"

"Quite well, under the circumstances," admitted Luna, immediately biting her tongue. She hadn't meant to add her qualifier.

"Ah, yes, I had heard you were attacked last week," nodded Fancy. "I had wondered to myself if you would show up tonight with your shoulder injury, but it seems as though you've made a swift recovery. Your physician must be phenomenal."

"I do not recall his name," shrugged Luna. "At the time, he was just some surgeon in Shireton, and I didn't go back and read the charts. Now that you mention it, though, I should send him a thank-you gift."

"Hm, yes. I would also like to apologize for my lateness. The charity auction funding the new soup kitchen I'm sponsoring ran longer than expected, and I forgot to account for the time it would take to close everything down. A shame we couldn't socialize more before our meal."

"I'm certain she would have been ecstatic if you had showed up earlier," chuckled Cosmo. "I have the distinct impression that she would have had a more diverse range of topics to choose from."

Luna chuckled as she was served a small platter of hummus-covered club crackers with pomegranate seeds on top. A simple, yet mildly flavourful start, though not particularly a good opening to a meal. This was better suited to being carried by servers before the meal.

"Fancy Pants, have you met Cosmic Crash?"

"I have not had the pleasure," he smiled. "I would shake your hoof, were we not so far apart, Mr. Crash."

"No matter," waved Cosmo. "And just Cosmo is fine. I hear you host spectacular events. Part of me wishes that I had attended your auction."

"Nonsense. Both of us would have been late."

The three of them carried on their conversation through the appetizer and the first course, a ratatouille. During their second course, a stuffed zucchini with marinara drizzle, Jet Set felt the need to interject as they hadn't said a word to him since they'd sat down to eat. "How are you all enjoying your meal?"

"It's a fine-tasting meal," offered Luna in response, smiling almost condescendingly, but holding onto her display of pleasantness.

"It's very clear that the chef you called in this time is better than the one you hired last," added Fancy, nodding along. "Their understanding of the relationship between the tomato and the zucchini squash is well-developed and clear. Certainly, they know much of their garden."

"Yes, I made sure to hire a catering company that was well-equipped this time," bragged Jet. "I'd had enough of hiring bad catering, so I called on my cousin, who actually runs the company I hired this time. You can always count on the high-end companies to craft the finest meals."

"It's just too bad they don't know how to string the courses together," blurted out Cosmo. "Other than the hummus biscuits, the flavours here have been remarkably similar. Do they have any dishes beyond tomato and zucchini?"

Fancy pants had to pretend to cough to keep himself from laughing, and Luna wiped her face with a napkin to hide her smile. While what had just been said would be seen as rude and uncouth at any other party, the bragging before had turned it back on the braggart. This would be further amplified if Jet stood his ground. Everypony knew that the catering company didn't pick the dishes, and Fancy Pants was aware that Jet didn't have a cousin in catering. One ran a meadery, and the other had gone into archaeology.

It was then that Jet made the smartest decision he'd made all day. Rather than raise a big stink or retaliate, he sheathed his tongue and kept his mouth shut. This led to a quieter, happier evening for the guests, culminating in a dessert of a rather tasty zucchini spice cake, which may have been more welcome if it hadn't been for the dishes that preceded it.